How to Apply
The Arcus Foundation Funding Guidelines
The Arcus Foundation Funding Guidelines
The Arcus Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that supports organizations around the world working in two areas - gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) human rights; and conservation of the world’s great apes. In the former area, we support organizations that are working to achieve social justice that is inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race. In the latter area, we support organizations seeking to ensure respect and survival of great apes and their natural habitats. These guidelines are designed to help grant seekers understand the Foundation’s priorities and application procedures.
If you have questions about these guidelines, please write to or contact the relevant staff person for your area of interest at our Michigan or New York offices.
Michigan: 269-373-4373; New York: 212-488-3000
Click here for a printable PDF version of Arcus’ 2008 Guidelines.
Arcus Funding Areas
The Arcus Gay & Lesbian Fund
Supports organizations that are working to achieve social justice that is inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race.
The Arcus Great Apes Fund
Supports organizations seeking to ensure respect and survival of great apes and their natural habitat.
Four-Step Application Process
If you are interested in applying to the Arcus Foundation, you should follow this four-step process (all four steps are required of new and former grant applicants).
STEP 1: Confirm Eligibility
Please confirm that your organization is eligible under our stated criteria - are you a tax-exempt organization under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the IRS regulations (or as a non-US organization, can you demonstrate an equivalent status?) AND is your non-discrimination or EEO policy compliant with our requirements?
STEP 2: Contact Arcus Foundation Staff Contact an Arcus Foundation Program Officer to discuss your interest and your ideas for a request.
STEP 3: Submit a Letter of Inquiry Submit a formal Letter of Inquiry to the Foundation, following the procedures detailed here.
STEP 4: If Invited, Submit a Full Proposal After reviewing your Letter of Inquiry, the Foundation will inform you as to whether a full proposal is being invited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Arcus Grant Forms
The Arcus Gay & Lesbian Fund
Supports organizations that are working to achieve social justice that is inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race.
The Arcus Great Apes Fund
Supports organizations seeking to ensure respect and survival of great apes and their natural habitat.
Four-Step Application Process
If you are interested in applying to the Arcus Foundation, you should follow this four-step process (all four steps are required of new and former grant applicants).
STEP 1: Confirm Eligibility
Please confirm that your organization is eligible under our stated criteria - are you a tax-exempt organization under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the IRS regulations (or as a non-US organization, can you demonstrate an equivalent status?) AND is your non-discrimination or EEO policy compliant with our requirements?
STEP 2: Contact Arcus Foundation Staff Contact an Arcus Foundation Program Officer to discuss your interest and your ideas for a request.
STEP 3: Submit a Letter of Inquiry Submit a formal Letter of Inquiry to the Foundation, following the procedures detailed here.
STEP 4: If Invited, Submit a Full Proposal After reviewing your Letter of Inquiry, the Foundation will inform you as to whether a full proposal is being invited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Arcus Grant Forms
"Rolling" Grant Making and Board Review Timing
The Arcus Foundation now has a flexible admission process for Letters of Inquiry and full proposals, which is called "rolling" grant making. We make decisions on grants throughout the year.
The Foundation’s Board of Directors reviews staff recommendations on all invited proposals and makes decisions. There will be four Board meetings over the course of a year at which grant awards will be made. We ask that all potential grant applicants contact the appropriate Program Officer four to six months in advance of the requested project start date in order to allow sufficient time for an invited proposal to be fully reviewed and for the applicant to be notified of the Board’s decision before the start date.
Grant applicants should carefully follow the steps outlined on this page before submitting anything to the Foundation.
What We Fund
- Requests for general operating support.
- Project support, including community organizing, training and leadership development.
- Specific programs.
- Public policy advocacy campaigns.
- Public policy research and its dissemination.
- Capital projects.
- Organizational capacity building.
- No grants are made to individuals.
- No grants are made for Scholarships, Lobbying purposes, Political campaigns, Film production projects, or Medical research projects.
STEP 1: Confirm Eligibility
The first thing you need to do is make sure you comply with the Foundation’s eligibility requirements:
1. Be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. An organization based outside the US must demonstrate that it is a U.S. 501 (c)(3) equivalent. Please contact Senior Grants Administrator Celeste Dado at if you have questions about eligibility for non-US based organizations.
2. Have in place a board-approved Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy that specifically includes and lists sexual orientation and gender identity, and requires compliance with all other applicable federal and local EEO laws. Organizations with non-compliant EEO policies will not be considered for funding.
3. Have a funding request that aligns with the Foundation’s areas of priority in either of its two funds.
The first thing you need to do is make sure you comply with the Foundation’s eligibility requirements:
1. Be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. An organization based outside the US must demonstrate that it is a U.S. 501 (c)(3) equivalent. Please contact Senior Grants Administrator Celeste Dado at if you have questions about eligibility for non-US based organizations.
2. Have in place a board-approved Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy that specifically includes and lists sexual orientation and gender identity, and requires compliance with all other applicable federal and local EEO laws. Organizations with non-compliant EEO policies will not be considered for funding.
3. Have a funding request that aligns with the Foundation’s areas of priority in either of its two funds.
STEP 2: Contact Arcus Foundation Staff
We encourage all potential and returning grant seekers to contact a foundation staff person before you send us anything.
For inquiries about Arcus Gay & Lesbian Fund:
Please call or email Linda May, Senior Program Officer, Great Apes Program, 269-373-4373, ;
or Annette Lanjouw, Director, Great Apes Program,
We encourage all potential and returning grant seekers to contact a foundation staff person before you send us anything.
For inquiries about Arcus Gay & Lesbian Fund:
- Religion & Values
Please call or email Tom Kam, Senior Fellow, Religion & Values Program, 212-488-3000 or - Racial Justice, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity or High Impact Strategies
Please call or email Cindy Rizzo, Director of Grant Making Programs, 212-488-3000 or - Our Work in Michigan, including all Michigan Racial & Economic Justice Initiative inquiries
Please call or email Johnny Jenkins, Michigan Program Officer, 269-373-4373 or - International GLBT Human Rights
Please call or email Cindy Rizzo, Director of Grant Making Programs, 212-488-3000 or - Other Inquiries
Contact Cindy Rizzo,
Please call or email Linda May, Senior Program Officer, Great Apes Program, 269-373-4373, ;
or Annette Lanjouw, Director, Great Apes Program,
STEP 3: Submit a Letter of Inquiry, including your IRS 501(c)(3) letter and a copy of your EEO Policy.
Previously funded applicants must submit a Letter of Inquiry with each new funding request.
Letter of Inquiry Requirements:
The letter should be one or two pages long and include the following items:
Letters of Inquiry with required attachments should be sent to the Michigan office of the Arcus Foundation.
Please send the Letter of Inquiry, 501(c)(3) Letter and EEO Policy to:
Previously funded applicants must submit a Letter of Inquiry with each new funding request.
Letter of Inquiry Requirements:
The letter should be one or two pages long and include the following items:
- Brief description of the organization and its history, purpose and goals.
- The challenge or opportunity to be addressed; the scope and significance of the issue to be addressed.
- Brief description of the project or program for which funds are being sought.
- Starting and ending dates of the proposed grant period.
- Amount of funds requested.
- Total organization budget and project budget (if applicable).
- Specify under which Arcus grantmaking Fund the request falls.
- Signature of an authorized official (board chair or executive director) of the requesting organization.
- 1. A copy of the organization’s IRS Letter of Determination of 501(c)(3) status (or evidence of equivalent status, if outside of the United States); and
- 2. A copy of the organization’s board-approved EEO policy. (See details of our EEO policy requirement). This is an absolute requirement of all groups seeking Arcus Funding.
Letters of Inquiry with required attachments should be sent to the Michigan office of the Arcus Foundation.
Please send the Letter of Inquiry, 501(c)(3) Letter and EEO Policy to:
2008 Grant Application
Arcus Foundation
402 East Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Information:
STEP 4:
For those Letters of Inquiry Invited, Submit a Full Proposal
The final step in the grant application process is the submission of a full proposal. Only organizations specifically invited by the Foundation to submit a full proposal may do so.
• The deadline for submission of a full proposal will be provided in the letter of invitation sent by the Foundation.
• Consideration of proposals received after this deadline will be postponed to a future board meeting date.
• Submit three (3) copies of the proposal and attachments, without binders or folders.
Proposal Review Process
The Foundation will review full proposals and make site visits if necessary. Final decisions will be made by the Foundation's Board which meets to review funding requests four times each year. Your program officer will inform you of the approximate date when you will receive notification of the Foundation’s decision. Applicants are notified of the decision in writing after the board meets.
PROPOSAL FORMAT
Full Proposals Must Include:
Complete and sign the Grant Proposal Cover Sheet and attach to the top of each of the three (3) required copies of the proposal.
2. Proposal Narrative
• For General Operating Support request, provide the information in sections A-D for the organization as a whole.
• For Project Support request, provide the information in sections A-C for the project and in section D for the organization.
Please attach 3 copies of the following:
A. List of Board of Directors with affiliations.
B. An organizational chart, including board, staff and volunteer involvement.
C. Financial Information:
Please send Proposals to:
2008 Grant Application
Arcus Foundation
402 East Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Please note: Organizations receiving grants from the Arcus Gay & Lesbian Fund are required to use the fund's full name.
For those Letters of Inquiry Invited, Submit a Full Proposal
The final step in the grant application process is the submission of a full proposal. Only organizations specifically invited by the Foundation to submit a full proposal may do so.
• The deadline for submission of a full proposal will be provided in the letter of invitation sent by the Foundation.
• Consideration of proposals received after this deadline will be postponed to a future board meeting date.
• Submit three (3) copies of the proposal and attachments, without binders or folders.
Proposal Review Process
The Foundation will review full proposals and make site visits if necessary. Final decisions will be made by the Foundation's Board which meets to review funding requests four times each year. Your program officer will inform you of the approximate date when you will receive notification of the Foundation’s decision. Applicants are notified of the decision in writing after the board meets.
PROPOSAL FORMAT
Full Proposals Must Include:
1. Arcus Grant Proposal Cover Sheet1. Arcus Grant Proposal Cover Sheet
2. Proposal Narrative
3. AttachmentsA. Board of Directors list
B. Organization Chart
C. Organization’s Annual Operating Budget
D. Project Budget and Budget Narrative (if applicable)
E. Most recent audit or financial statement
F. Demographic Profile
Complete and sign the Grant Proposal Cover Sheet and attach to the top of each of the three (3) required copies of the proposal.
2. Proposal Narrative
• For General Operating Support request, provide the information in sections A-D for the organization as a whole.
• For Project Support request, provide the information in sections A-C for the project and in section D for the organization.
A. Executive Summary [suggested length: Half Page]3. Attachments
B. Purpose of Grant [suggested length: 4 pages]
- State the needs and/or opportunities to be addressed; if applicable, describe the target population and how it will benefit.
- List goals and measurable objectives for the funded activities.
- Provide a work plan describing the funded activities and the timetable for implementation.
- List both the "outputs" and the "outcomes" of the proposed funded activities. To the extent possible, both outputs and outcomes should be quantifiable.
• Outputs are the products of your efforts (e.g., publication of a report and its distribution, training, number of participants, staff hired, funds raised).
• Outcomes describe the difference that your efforts will make, i.e., the results and changes that correspond to your goals (e.g., improved organizational infrastructure and stability, policy change, attitude change, behavior change).C. Impact [suggested length: 1 page]
- List any other partners and/or collaborators, their roles and the skills/expertise they will bring.
- List the names, titles, skills and roles of those who will carry out the funded activities.
- Discuss long-term strategies for sustaining the funded activities at the end of the grant period.
Describe your plan for measuring the impact of the funded activities. How will success be defined and measured?
D. Organization Information [suggested length: 2 pages]
• Briefly summarize the organization's history.
• State the organization's mission and goals.
• Describe current programs, activities and accomplishments.
• List the organization’s main sources of support.
Please attach 3 copies of the following:
A. List of Board of Directors with affiliations.
B. An organizational chart, including board, staff and volunteer involvement.
C. Financial Information:
1. Organization's current annual operating budget, including expenses and revenue.D. Organization’s Demographic Profile
2. Budget and Budget Narrative Related to the Request
a. For Project Support request, provide the project budget that covers the proposed grant period. In the case of multi-year request, provide project budgets covering each year of the request period.3. Most recent annual financial audit or financial statement reviewed by an independent third party, if audit not required.
b. For General Operating Support request, provide the organization's annual operating budget that covers the proposed grant period. In the case of multi-year request, provide the organization's budget for each year of the request period.
c. For project or general operating support budgets:
1) Provide a short narrative that explains the items included in the budget(s), including assumptions and calculations.d. List other anticipated or actual sources of support for this proposal: including names of foundation or corporate prospects and categories of other support (including major donors, events, etc.) and amount requested, expected or received. (Indicate whether amounts are pending or received.)
2) Provide a breakdown of how a grant from Arcus will be expended.
Please send Proposals to:
2008 Grant Application
Arcus Foundation
402 East Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Please note: Organizations receiving grants from the Arcus Gay & Lesbian Fund are required to use the fund's full name.